I don't have the luxury of sitting in an office drinking tea - how Met Police inspector responded to complainant

Monday 22 July 2013 10:24 BST

A Met inspector has told a man who protested about his treatment by police that he cannot investigate properly because he does not sit “in a nice office drinking tea” working “leisurely office hours”.

In a letter, the officer also warns the man that public expectations of police are “doomed to disappointment” because they are too high and reveals that he cannot conduct an independent probe because he knows the officers involved.

The inspector adds that he has only conducted a “limited investigation” because he does not have the “time or resources” to do more.

The letter was disclosed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission as an illustration of the inadequate way in which the Met deals with complaints.

It follows a report by the watchdog last week which warned that the force needed to undergo a major “cultural change” because of its failure to handle racism complaints properly.

The new letter, which relates to a non-racism incident, was sent by the borough inspector after Scotland Yard’s directorate of professional standards told him that a previous response to the complainant had been inadequate.

The inspector apologises for that, but continues that “this is because I am an operational inspector on 24 hour shifts with responsibility for a response team of 37 constables and 6 sergeants, major crimes, critical incidents and emergencies around the clock, and do not have the luxury of sitting undisturbed in a nice office drinking tea on leisurely office hours.”

“Nonetheless, I am glad to be able at 1 o’clock in the morning to provide you with a fuller explanation of the limited local investigation which I have carried out into your complaint. It is a limited investigation because I do not have the time or resources to carry out a full investigation.”

The inspector says that Scotland Yard has sent the complaint to him because it was “insufficiently serious” for an independent probe, but frankly admits that his judgement cannot be impartial and that he thinks public expectations of police are too high.

“My investigation cannot by its nature be truly independent because I know the officers who dealt with you well, they have worked under me for some years,” the letter states.

“In summary, I am sorry that you have felt it necessary to complain about my officers, or that you feel that your needs were not adequately addressed. Sometimes people’s unduly high expectations of what the police are there for, or what they can or should do, are doomed to disappointment.”

Deborah Glass, the IPCC’s commissioner for London, said the letter highlighted how the Met’s problems extended beyond the handling of racism complaints and that improvements were needed in all areas.

The Met said the officer had been subject to disciplinary action and retraining and that the force was attempting to improve the way they communicated with the public.

A spokesman added: “The officer’s letter clearly falls well below the standard expected of officers when communicating with the public.

“However, whilst this is no excuse for the tone of the letter, we do recognise the challenge officers sometimes face balancing competing priorities and we must do all we can to help them to improve the way complaints are handled locally.”

An extract from the letter

“It has been brought to my attention via the DPS and our local Customer Service Dept that my first letter was not an adequate response to your letter of Jan 25th. For that I offer you my apologies. This is because I am an operational inspector on 24 hour shifts with responsibility for a response team of 37 constables and 6 sergeants, major crimes, critical incidents and emergencies around the clock, and do not have the luxury of sitting undisturbed in a nice office drinking tea on leisurely office hours.

Nonetheless, I am glad to be able at 1 o’clock in the morning to provide you with a fuller explanation of the limited local investigation which I have carried out into your complaint. It is a limited investigation because I do not have the time or resources to carry out a full investigation. Furthermore, your complaint was judged by the DPS to be insufficiently serious to be fully independently investigated by them. Hence it was sent to me as the line manager of the officers who dealt with you. [...] My investigation cannot by its nature be truly independent because I know the officers who dealt with you well, they have worked under me for some years.

In summary, I am sorry that you have felt it necessary to complain about my officers, or that you feel that your needs were not adequately addressed. Sometimes peoples’ unduly high expectations of what the police are there for, or what they can or should do, are doomed to disappointment.”